Playboy Enterprises Inc

Playboy Enterprises Inc. said its second-quarter loss narrowed to $905,000, or 4 cents a share, from $3.1 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 7.7% to $76 million. Circulation revenue for the flagship magazine rose more than 10% under the direction of new editorial director James Kaminsky, who went to Playboy in September from Maxim. Shares of Playboy fell 33 cents to $13.15 on the NYSE

Playboy Enterprises to Launch Cable Channel in Japan: The Chicago-based entertainment company made an agreement with Tohokushinsha Film Co. to begin a 24-hour cable TV network in Japan to be called the Playboy Channel. The premium service will be available to cable subscribers and hotels. It is scheduled to begin Oct. 1. Playboy Enterprises Inc. said Tohokushinsha will have an 80% stake; Playboy's 20% will be the highest equity position a foreign firm can take in a Japanese network.

Playboy magazine has occupied a special place in the closets and under the mattresses of men for more than 50 years. But the magazine's mix of famous authors, celebrity interviews and naked women has been struggling to make a profit and now is turning to DVDs in hopes of finding a new source of revenue. Playboy Enterprises Inc. has struck a deal to let a private publishing company, Bondi Digital Publishing, develop a series of DVD box sets that will contain all 636 back issues.

chicago -- Playboy is heading back to school to boost the bottom line. Riding a wave of renewed popularity among consumers around the globe, Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire is set to launch a sexy social networking site dedicated solely to college students, its latest online venture as it tries to reinvigorate its stagnant finances. The launch of Playboy U, which has similar features to those found on Facebook, comes as Playboy's 54-year-old magazine continues to lose money and readers.

Porn icon Jenna Jameson is shedding her assets, selling Club Jenna Inc. to adult entertainment giant Playboy Enterprises. Playboy said Thursday that it had paid an undisclosed amount of cash for the hard-core film production company founded by Jameson, one of the world's most celebrated sex stars. The Phoenix-based company also owns 18 websites and a library of adult films, including "I Dream of Jenna" and "The Masseuse."

The Playboy bunnies, once scorned as sexist relics of the swinging 1960s, are back. Friday night, at one of this town's most popular casinos, a new generation of leggy ladies spilled across the opulent gaming room at the new Playboy Club at the Palms Casino and Resort. Bowing as they served drinks, the rabbit-eared waitresses pushed their signature white, puffy tails in the air while patrons tossed dice and slapped cards onto green velour tables. About 10:15 p.m.

Playboy Enterprises Inc., publisher of the most widely read men's magazine, posted an unexpected profit Tuesday, buoyed by online sales from porn star Jenna Jameson's Club Jenna. Net income dropped 66% to $1.1 million, or 3 cents a share, from $3.2 million, or 10 cents, a year earlier, Chicago-based Playboy said. Playboy beat the average estimate of a loss of 3.4 cents a share from analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Sales rose to $82.3 million.

Playboy Enterprises Inc., publisher of the most widely read men's magazine, saw its shares fall 1.3% after reporting an unexpected fourth-quarter loss. Shares declined 11 cents to $8.52 after the company reported a loss of $1.1 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with profit of $3.7 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated profit of 5 cents a share. Sales fell to $85.9 million from $86.2 million. Publishing revenue dropped 2% to $24.7 million, reflecting a decline in subscriptions, Chicago-based Playboy said.